Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Urge Secretary Clinton to End Child Trafficking


Plan International USA, Inc. has created a petition urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to work to end child trafficking in 2010. The petition thanks Secretary Clinton for her support of anti-trafficking work to date, and aims to encourage her to continue to make ending slavery a priority. The petition, which has already gathered over 20,000 signatures, will close on January 31st.

Plan International is a child-centered NGO that operates in 48 countries around the world. According to Plan International, "This year 1.2 million girls and boys were victims of child trafficking. That means they were taken from their families. Sold into slavery. Forced to work 7 days a week with dangerous equipment. They endured beatings, malnutrition, and other abuse. Girls are especially exploited: sold as “mail order brides,” forced into prostitution, and brutalized and raped by their “employers.”

As Plan International notes, Secretary Clinton has expressed support for anti-trafficking work. The petition urges Secretary Clinton to "continue [her] important work to protect children from human trafficking by; spreading awareness of human trafficking by including it as a key part of upcoming speeches and responding to tragedies in the news, encouraging the work of organizations and countries that are making progress in ending human trafficking, discussing this issue with key leaders of countries who are known for human trafficking violations and insisting that these leaders follow the recommendations in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report."

Upon the release of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, Secretary Clinton wrote in a piece published by the Washington Post, "Human trafficking flourishes in the shadows and demands attention, commitment and passion from all of us. We are determined to build on our past success and advance progress in the weeks, months and years ahead. Together, we must hold a light to every corner of the globe and help build a world in which no one is enslaved." Plan International's petition aims to encourage Secretary Clinton to continue her commitment and strengthen her leadership in shining this light.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous7:39 PM

    Here's how Hilary Clinton really feels about
    child trafficking:

    http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/42961

    ReplyDelete